1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active air skirt device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an active air skirt capable of being operated in multiple steps corresponding to a speed of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a vehicle moves through the air, it collides with air molecules and is affected by air resistance. The types of air resistance that act on a vehicle include drag force and lift force.
Drag force refers to resistance force that acts opposite to the motion of the vehicle moving through the air and colliding with air molecules, and lift force refers to force that results from the pressure difference between the top and underside of the body of a moving vehicle and acts to lift the vehicle body.
Therefore, a device for reducing drag force and lift force is required in order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics and fuel efficiency of vehicles.
As an exemplary device for improving the aerodynamic characteristics, an active air skirt device, which actively operates corresponding to a speed of a vehicle, has been developed. The active air skirt device is a device that reduces the amount of air flowing toward an underbody of the vehicle via a front bumper while traveling at a high speed, thereby reducing lift force and consequently improving the aerodynamic characteristics.
However, most common active air skirt devices have only two modes, namely a retracted mode and a full operating mode, which are selected corresponding to the speed of the vehicle, and thus have a shortcoming in that there is a limitation in the extent to which the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle can be improved corresponding to the speed of the vehicle.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.